Longfields Primary and Nursery School

Key Information Curriculum English

ENGLISH

At Longfields we recognise that at the heart of improving literacy skills is the opportunity to practise them. Improving literacy and learning can have an impact on students’ self-esteem, motivation, behaviour and attainment. It allows them to learn independently and is empowering.

Longfields’ curriculum is underpinned by developing students’ abilities to speak, listen, read and write for a wide range of purposes, including using language to learn, communicate, think, explore and organise. Helping students to express themselves clearly, through development of vocabulary, both orally and in writing, enhances and enriches teaching and learning in all subjects and prepares the student for life after school.

Phonics plays a big role in the development of reading and writing. It is the first tool to make (blend) words, or write (segment) them. It enables our children become competent writers and fluent readers early in their school life.

AIMS and PURPOSE

To teach children to apply the skill of blending phonemes in order to read words.

To teach children to segment words into their constituent phonemes in order to spell words.

To learn that blending and segmenting words are reversible processes.

To teach children to read high frequency words that do not conform to regular phonic patterns.

To teach children to read texts and words that are within their phonic capabilities as early as possible.

To teach children to decode texts effortlessly so all their resources can be used to comprehend what they read.

HOW WE IMPLEMENT

At Longfields Primary School we follow the Read Write Inc scheme which is a systematic approach to teaching phonics. Phonics is taught in discrete, daily lessons throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 with additional sessions for those in KS2 who need support

ASSESSMENT

At the end of Year 1 class teachers will carry out the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check with each child in their class on a 1:1 basis (a compulsory requirement). Each child will be asked to read 40 words aloud, the 40 words will be made up of real words and non-words. The assessment is to confirm whether pupils have learnt their letter sounds and whether they can use them to decode and read a range of words of increasing phonic complexity. There is no time limit on the test and it has been carefully designed not to be stressful for your child.

We believe that reading, and particularly reading for pleasure, has a direct impact on cognitive and social communicative development. Our aim is to develop each student’s potential to the point where they are reading at, or above, their chronological age.

Longfields Primary School And Nursery